Rolling mill



F. J. WOOD ROLLING MILL April 14, 1953 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 1'7, 1948 INVENTOR. F'RA NK J. WOOD MRI-W 4 rroezvsvs April 14, 1953 J, wooD 2,634,635

' ROLLING MILL Filed Dec. 1'7, 1948 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

FE'A IVK J'- WOOD Mi M ATTORNEYS F1 J. VV(DC)[J ROLLING MILL April 14, 1953 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Dec. 17, 1948 INVENTOR. F' P14 )VK \J: W 000 A TTOENEYS Patented Apr. 14, 1953 i iiiD ROLLING MILL Frank J. Wood, New Rochelle, N. Y., assignor to Erwin Loewy, New York, N. Y.

Application December 17, 1948, Serial Nb. 65,762

2 Claims.

This invention relates to rolling mills and. especially to an improved arrangement wherein a plurality of rolls and bearing may be removed. and inserted as a unit in conjunction with the mill cap, the mill cap being removable therewith.

In rolling mill operations, rolls frequently must be changed for various reasons, such as when different shapes are rolled requiring sub- 'stitution of the rolls, or where repairs to the rolls must be made. Also, adjustments have to be made to the rolls relative to each other, both in axial and vertical directions.

In prior devices, the roll bearings and other elements have been insertible and removable individually which has required many time c'on suming operations in roll changing. A rolling mill of the type especially adapted for use in the present invention has roll housings at each end comprising a pair of uprights defining a window serving as the support or receptacle for the roll bearings. Previously, each time the rolls have been removed for any purpose, a substantially complete readjustment of the rolls and bearings relative to each other and the mill housings has been required.

One of the objects of the present invention is to materially reduce the time and simplify the manner in which a roll assembly can be removed, changed and adjusted, wherein the cap is removable and replaceable with the mill inserts.

Another object of the invention is to make possible the adjustment of the rolls and bearings as units before mounting the rolls and bearings unitarily with the removable roll housing-cap into 'the mill housings.

One of the features of the invention is the provision of a roll assembly arrangement for a removable cap rolling mill wherein carrier frames or yokes can have the rolls and roll bearings assembled thereto and adjusted relative to the frames outside of the rolling mill, the cap being joined to the assemblies for mounting and removal relative to the mill housings. The assembled carrier frames are connected together and inserted as units through the top of the mill housings, the removable cap being connected with the roll assembly arrangement when the roll assembly is picked up and mounted in the roll housings. The removed cap is provided with a mechanically operated lock serving to lock the cap securely relative to the mill, the lock in the preferred form being projectable to hold elements of the cap and housing in locked relationship.

The inventionis particularly useful in conjunction with rolling mill stands having two or three rolls. In the case of a three high roll mill stand, the center roll is carried in a hired vertical position in the 'mill housings and the outer rolls adjusted relative thereto. A connection is provided extending upwardly relative to the center roll carrien said connection being joinable with said cap. The lower and upper roll carriers are 'connectable with said center roll carrier so that when the cap is removed, the roll assembles will be removed therewith as a unit.

The various bearing elements can be adjusted exteriorly of the mill as described for example in applicants copending applications, Serial No. 7&33 15, filed April 23, 1 947, and now Patent No. 2,601,793, granted July 1, 1952, and Serial No. 761,892, filed July 18, 1947, and now Patent No. 2,681,79 hgranted July 1, 1952.

These and other objects, features, and advantages will become apparent from the following description and drawings which it is to be understood are merely exemplary.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is an end elevation partially in section.

Figure 2 is a front View of the rolling mill with the left portion in section, said sections being taken generally along the line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary top view partially in section showing the cap for the mill housings.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary end view with the cap and carrier frames partially lifted.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 5-5 of Figure 4.

In a preferred form of the invention, rolls 'having two piece bearings are shown wherein each bearing has chocks and a mating roll guide bearing. It is to be understood that other types of bearings can be employed with the invention, such as roller bearings for example.

The invention is concerned especially with a removable cap arrangement which is lockable in place upon the roll housings of a rolling mill, said cap being arranged so that it is connectable with the various carrier frames to lift the same "as a unit iromthe roll housing.

In the three high mill with which the invention will be specifically described, upper roll All can have roll chocks H, I2 (Fig. 2) engaging roll necks l3, H3 at each end of the upper roll, said checks having anti 'friction liners if desired. Upper roll guide bearings !5 can have anti-friction liners I5 mou nted therein. In the particular form-show th'eupper roll guide bearings are urgeuupwamiy by means of-springs n sup- A center roll rider means is provided at each end of the mill housings, said rider means being positioned vertically in the manner to be described. hereafter.

Center roll 19 can be carried in center roll Chocks 23 and 2| (Fig. 2), said chocks having anti-friction liners supporting the center roll necks 22. 7 Lower roll 23 has lower roll chocks 24, 25 supporting roll necks 26.

The mill stand may have a pair of housings 21, 28, each of said housings having uprights 25 and 33, said uprights defining a housing window 3| located therebetween. The uprights can be mounted on mill stand base 32 in any desired manner.

Upper roll assembly carrier frame 33 may have chock positioning bolts 34 adjustably engaging roll chock l2 (Figs. 1 and 2), belts or adjusting screws 35 being provided for holding the left hand chock H in the roll assembly carrier frame 33. Both screws 34 and 35 may be made adjustable if desired, although it is only necessary that one set be adjustable. By adjustment of screws 34, the thrust exerted by the roll bearings on the necks of the roll and position of the roll relative to the carrier frame can be adjusted. The thrust bearing portions 35 of the anti-friction liners may be made integral or separate relative to the antifriction liners themselves.

Flange 31 of the upper roll assembly carrier frame 33 can extend either side of the housing window 3|, said flange having slots 38 therein arranged to straddle holding bolts 39. Holding bolts 33 can have a pair of adjustable nuts thereon between which the flange is held so as to adjustably locate the roll assembly carrier frame and roll therein, longitudinally or axially relative to the roll housings. It is apparent that thevertical position of the carrier frame 33 relative to the roll housings can be made adjustable relative thereto because of the slots 33 and holding bolts 39.

The center roll carrier frame 43 can be made integral with the center roll carrier cradle or support ll. arranged so as to rest on faces 42 of the rolling mill and thus vertically position the center roll carrier frame relative to the roll housings. Clamping plates 43, engageable by bolts 44, can be provided for the purpose of clamping the flange of the center roll carrier frame 33 in position on the mill housing uprights. The center roll i3 is thus positioned vertically by the support or cradle 4| As mentioned previously, the cradle has roll carrier frame integral therewith, bolts 35 and 45 (Figs. 1 and 2) being provided for positioning the roll chocks in said center roll carrier frame. Rider elements or means it can be slid into the windows 3| at each end of the roll housings, said rider means carrying the anti-friction rider bearing elements 41.

The vertical position of the rider means is adjustable by means of wedges located in cap 56. The rider means I 8 also serve as supports for springs l7, said springs vertically positioning the roll guide bearing elements l5 and [6 for the upper ro1l. The legs of the support or cradle 4| also could be supported on an adjustable wedge arrangement (not shown) for the purpose of adjusting the vertical position of the center roll arrangement.

Lower roll 23 may be carried in roll chocks 24 and 25 adjustably mounted in the lower roll carrier frame 48, bolts 49 and 50 being provided for locating the roll chocks in the lower carrier frame The legs of said cradle 4| can be 48. Both or only one set of the bolts can be made adjustable similar to the upper and center roll carrier frames. The lower roll assembly carrier frame 48 may have a flange 5! having slots 52 engageable with adjustable bolts 53 in a manner similar to the upper roll carrier frame 33. Connecting link 54 can be provided to connect the rider elements with the center roll carrier assembly frame 40. The legs of the cradle support 4| may have an inwardly extending ledge 55 for the purpose of engaging and lifting the lower roll carrier frame upwardly therewith when the center roll carrier frame is lifted upwardly.

The cap 56 may have an adjustable pad 51 (Fig. 1) operable by any suitable mechanism 58 for adjusting the position of the upper roll carrier frame 33. A similar lower pad 59 operable by vertical positioning means 50 can be provided for locating the lower roll carrier frame 48.

The cap 56 may have a bifurcated portion 6| on each corner thereof, straddling an upwardly projecting tongue or portion 62 of each of the uprights of the housings. A slidable locking sleeve or element 63 is reciprocable by means of the engagement of internal screw threads 64 of the sleeve 63 with the threaded rods 65, said threaded rods 65 being rotatable by motor 66 (Figs. 2 and 3) through the worm wheel drive arrangement 61. Other equivalent locking means can be employed.

In the position shown in Figures 2 and 3, the locking sleeve 63 is positioned through both legs of the bifurcated portion BI and also through aperture 68 in the upwardly projecting tongues of the mill housing uprights. When it is desired to unlock the cap from the mill housings, rotation of rods 65 by motor 66 will cause a withdrawal of locking sleeves 63 to the positions shown in Figure 5. A bushing 69 may be provided in the end of each aperture through the cap for the purpose of receiving the end of locking sleeves 63 when in locked position and also for holding slings for removing the cap.

The rider elements I8 are fastened to the cap by means of bolts or studs 10 extending through the cap. Split locking wedges or keys H may be employed for holding the stud and rider elements relative to the cap. In order to adjust the position of the rider elements vertically, wedge arrangement 12 may be used having an adjusting bolt 73 for moving the Wedge inwardly and outwardly relative to the housings. The wedge 12 (Figs. 3 and 5) may have a slot 14 for straddling the stud 10 so that the wedge 12 may be moved inwardly and outwardly relative to the mill housings.

In the adjustment of the rider elements relative to the studs 70, it may become necessary to remove the wedges, said wedges being replaced when it is wished to lift the roll carrier frames and cap from the mill housings.

When it is desired to remove the cap, various rolls and carrier frames from the mill housings,

the links 54 are placed in position and motor 66 operated so as to unlock the locking sleeves 63. A lifting apparatus, such as indicated by slings 15, 15 (Fig. 4), then can be attached to the cap. Before the elements are lifted from the housings, bolts 39 are loosened as are also the clamps 33 and bolts 53. The connected elements then can be taken to a convenient place exteriorly of the rolling mill. It is possible to remove the locking keys H from the removed assembly, and transport the cap to another point where roll carrier frames and rider elements may have been predeterminedly adjusted relative to each other. The cap then can be fastened to the new rider elements by means of locking keys and the adjusted carrier frame assembly placed into the mill housing.

The invention described herein provides an improved means of assembling and disassembling the parts of a rolling mill in conjunction with the cap therefore. It also provides an arrangement for easily locking the caps to the mill housings and for locking and unlocking the rider elements attaching a plurality of mill inserts to the cap. The details of construction can be varied without departing from the spirit of the invention except as set forth in the appended claims.

What is claimed:

1. In a rolling mill having a pair of housings, the combination including a removable cap having downwardly extending members with apertures therein for receiving locking pin means, upwardly projecting members on said housing movable into assembled relationship with said downwardly extending members as said cap is moved into assembled relationship with said housings, said upwardly projecting members having apertures matching the apertures in said downwardly extending members when the parts are in assembled relationship, pin means carried by one of said members movable through said apertures for locking the cap and housings in assembled relationship, motor means for moving said pins, and mechanical connections between said motor means and said pin means for moving said pin means in and out of locking relationship relative to said apertures.

2. In a rolling mill having a pair of housings, the combination including a removable cap having downwardly extending slotted members with apertures therein for receiving locking pin means, upwardly projecting members on said housings movable into the slots of said slotted members as said cap is moved into assembled relationship with said housings, said upwardly projecting members having apertures matching the apertures in said downwardly extending members when the parts are in assembled relationship, pin means carried by said downwardly projecting members movable through said apertures for locking the cap and housings in assembled relationship, motor means on said cap for moving said pins, nut and screw connections between said motor and said pin means for longitudinally moving said pin means in said apertures upon rotation of said motor means, and means restraining rotation of said pin means relative to said cap.

FRANK J. WOOD.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,923,782 George Aug. 22, 1933 1,924,333 Talbot Aug. 29, 1933 2,049,842 Kling Aug. 4, 1936 2,237,040 Peterson Apr. 1, 1941 2,541,279 Peterson Feb. 13, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 470,245 Great Britain Aug. 11, 1937 617,481 Germany Aug. 1, 1935 

